Big Tree Takes Deep Roots in Bali

Big Tree Farms Opens Bean-To-Bar Chocolate Factory In Bali

(11/4/2011) The seeds of Big Tree Farms were first sown in1998 on Ben and Blair Ripple’s mountain farm in the highlands of Bali.

Their focus over the years has remained unwavering. Big Tree Farms operates a sustainable supply chain of organic food production stretching across 10 islands of Indonesia. Working closely with local faming communities, Big Tree Farms maintains extensive and intensive relationships with their producers who become part of the Big Tree family – sharing dreams and visions for a better, sustainable future based on organic agricultural production.

Big Tree Farms, with a decade of experience supporting sustainable agriculture for smallholders in Indonesia, is now opening its international headquarters in Sibang, Bali on November 11, 2011.

The soaring bamboo headquarters - one of largest bamboo structures on earth - brings together cutting-edge food technology with indigenous foods and products. This impressive facility will be a important addition to Bali serving as a center for community meetings, training and sustainable design.

The new headquarters in Sibang will house the administration of Big Tree Farm's archipelago-wide agricultural activities. It will also include areas for processing, warehousing, an event centre, commercial kitchen and a retail showroom.

Big Tree Farms is renowned for making some of the world’s highest integrity raw cacao products, coconut palm sugar and raw cashews and is taking this expertise to the next level with the introduction of a full chocolate factory. The facility will be home to the first commercial centre in the region to produce highest quality chocolate from organic beans grown by certified small farms across Indonesia. Big Tree Farms will offer tours of the chocolate-making process and feature a full choco-inspired café for those who want to sample raw cacao and other organic treats.

“The facility is truly a remarkable feat in architectural design and execution, not only from the perspective of esthetic beauty, but also in the science of engineering and the celebration of traditional carpentry,” explains Big Tree Farms founder and co-CEO Ben Ripple. “With this facility, we hope to break a box of what has been perceived as "not possible". Our goal is to show the world that a large-scale commercial building can be built from bamboo -- a highly sustainable material -- and that it can be beautiful, efficient and practical in terms of a production facility, supportive of a creative and inspiring work environment for our employees and a welcoming space for all our visitors to come see the magic that is Big Tree Farms.”

The facility opens on November 11with a party, music and raw chocolate treats.